Acidification increases ocean noise
Nature Geoscience
2009년12월21일
The high-latitude oceans could become an increasingly noisy place to live this century, according to a study published online in Nature Geoscience. Increased noise levels could influence the behaviour and biology of marine organisms, for example causing the temporary loss of hearing in dolphins or the mass stranding of cetaceans.
Low-frequency sound in the ocean is produced by natural phenomena, such as rain, waves and marine life, and by human activities such as sonar systems, shipping and construction. The concentration of chemicals that absorb sound in the world's oceans has declined as a result of ocean acidification, in turn caused by rising concentrations of carbon dioxide. Tatiana Ilyina and colleagues use model simulations to show that reductions in ocean pH could reduce seawater sound absorption by as much as 60% at high latitudes and in areas where deep water forms.
This could affect species at the top of the ocean food web ― for example, baleen whales ― by changing the spread of sound in the oceans.
doi: 10.1038/ngeo719
리서치 하이라이트
-
8월18일
Environment: Protecting global forest biodiversityNature
-
8월17일
Climate change: North Atlantic hurricane season starting earlierNature Communications
-
8월17일
Climate change: Energy institutions’ decarbonization scenarios evaluated against the Paris AgreementNature Communications
-
8월16일
Food: Modelling global famine and associated deaths from nuclear weapon detonationNature Food
-
8월12일
Climate change: The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the worldCommunications Earth & Environment
-
8월11일
Ecology: Forest responses to climate changeNature